Life's Trials
by jlandz09
Summary: Very dramatic high-school fic. While it is Taang, it is more of a character study of Aang and all of his relationships. Also, Taang fans, prepare for a LOT of heart-breaking chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: More at the end of the story, but I thought I'd say a few words to start off. If you ship Kataang, don't get too comfortable. While the first lot of chapters are Kataang, it won't last.** **On the flip side, if you don't ship Kataang, don't skip the Kataang chapters. They are crucial just as well as everything is. The story is a lot more central to Aang than it is to his exterior relationships, but the Kataang and the other later ships are important too. More at the end...**

* * *

Aang walked into his first period class.

Aang is 16 years old. He spends a lot of time playing soccer, running track, and other sporty stuff. He is a junior this year in high school. His first period class is an art class that he takes every year.

Taking a seat, he looked around and sighed when he saw his friend Katara come in and sit beside him.

Aang and Katara had spent a lot of the summer together and had added greatly to their friendship that had been developing over the last few years. They did things like eat at the local Italian restaurant, kick a ball around at the local park, and enroll in summer stained glass classes together.

"Gosh, I'm so excited to use some of the stuff we learned from over the summer," said Aang.

"I know," Katara replied.

Their teacher, Roku, soon entered the room. He was getting really old for his job and soon he'd probably be retiring. At least, that was the general consensus around the classroom.

Moving on through the day, Aang and Katara met up with Sokka at lunch.

Aang and Sokka had met playing soccer and subsequently, Aang was introduced to his twin sister Katara at some game or practice or something. Sokka was always kind of suspicious about the two. He thought they were spending too much time together and enjoying each other's company a little too much to be just friends.

"So, this cafeteria food? Not doing it for me," Sokka complained.

"But Sokka, you just don't like it because there is no meat."

"Hey, that is a perfectly decent reason not to like it."

"But Sokka," Aang tried to reason, "The cafeteria always has something with meat."

"Yeah, but today it was smothered with nasty corn and potatoes."

Katara simply laid her head on the desk and waited for the day to end. Neither she nor Aang had anything to look forward to that year since they were only juniors. All they had to look forward to was for summer to come again.

After school, Katara waited for Aang and Sokka after soccer practice. She was used to them being away at practice, but now she had to get used to the wait after school. Looking around, she only saw a few stray freshmen that were waiting for late-working parents. Other than that, it was just the couples that were too distracted by each other to realize they didn't have to be at school.

She accidentally let her eyes linger too long and one of the couples caught her staring.

"Enjoying the show?" asked Haru. Katara had known Haru from elementary school, but she never really cared for him.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about something."

"You mean that artsy-fartsy soccer player you hang out with all the time?"

Katara was aghast. "How dare you insult Aang like that!"

"Aang? I was talking about your brother. Oh, I see...you got something going for the twerp don't you?"

"No I don't!" Katara defended herself.

"Ok, we'll see..." Haru said, grabbing his girlfriend Jin and walking out to his car.

Katara slumped back down and waited for soccer practice to finally be over.

Suddenly, she heard her phone vibrate in her purse. Taking it out, she read the following text:

_"Sorry about that._

_~Jin"_

Katara sighed in relief. Jin had always been one of her friends. She was kind of upset when she started dating Haru, but her random texts reassured her that everything was mostly solid between them.

How much of a jerk was Haru though? First he insulted her for hanging out with Aang all the time and then...

_"Oh wait, he was talking about Sokka that time wasn't he? Hmm, do I really hang out with Aang that mu-"_

Her phone vibrated again. She shot a glance and saw that it was from Aang:

_"Done. Ready to go to La Casa._

_~Aang-y"_

Katara rolled her eyes at his signature. Some stupid freshman Koko in his 3rd period class grabbed his phone and changed it because she thought he was cute.

Catching up to the guys, Katara told Aang, "You really need to change your signature."

"Why's that?"

"Because stupid girls like Koko will just keep getting more and more annoying unless you nip it in the bud."

Aang and Sokka stared at each other.

"You don't even know Koko," said Sokka, "How do you know she's stupid or annoying like that? Maybe she just really likes Aang in a normal, non-obsessive way."

"Trust me Sokka, that's the only way freshman love comes, abnormal, and crazy-obsessive. Especially if it's an older guy they think they actually have a shot at."

"OK Katara. Since you're so concerned for my well-being, I'll change it."

* * *

At home that night, Katara was about to go to bed but she couldn't stop thinking about everything that happened after school. Why was she so defensive about how much she hung out with Aang? And why couldn't she stop thinking about him?

She grabbed her phone checking for last-minute texts before bed. Before she closed her phone she received one more from Aang:

_"Nighty-night._

_~AWWWWWWWWWWWW...AANGY-KINS!!"_

Katara giggled and shut her phone as she rolled over into sleep.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed. Hopefully, you get a sense for my writing style. Again, I really hope I don't lose readers to the shipping. You might be surprised who shows up. Hopefully, you've already noticed gaping holes in the character list and trust me, they will be filled...eventually.**

**I should also say this. There are certain situations and relationships that stem from my real life experiences. I won't be specific, but I will say that Aang's relationship with one character in particular would seem like a carbon copy to those who know me in real life. I'm not doing this to glorify my own life, I'm simply testing out different methods of writing fiction to see how interesting my own personal experiences and trials can make a fictional story.**

**Unfortunately, there won't be too much focus on shipping outside of Aang. I already have in mind to ship Sukka, but that is a long while coming. As for other popular ships like Zutara, I just don't know. Truthfully, I'm not even sure where Zuko or the rest of the FN gang will fit at this point.**

**Oh, and since certain situations stem from real life, I have to start the story in August of 2007 (my junior year) so I can fully relay the Aang and Toph relationship which is really the bulk of this entire story.**

**Any other important information will be forthcoming in future chapters.**


	2. Chapter 2

After about eight weeks in, things settled down and Aang and Katara were busy at work during first period art class. Most of the class consisted of practice, projects, and listening to directions from the teacher.

On the October morning, Aang and Katara heard a crash from behind them. They both spun around to see what happened and spotted a younger girl with deep black hair and a petite body picking up the pieces of a picture frame from the ground.

No one else seemed to pay much attention, but since Aang considered himself somewhat decent at the particular project, he offered the girl some advice.

"You can make more room for your frame if you move your canisters farther toward..."

Aang stopped when he saw the girl's friend. The glares coming from...it...were enough to trip Aang up for just a few moments, but he continued, "Umm...toward...ummm...I'm sorry, what's your name again?"

"Mai," the girl said apathetically.

"Yeah. Just move your canisters over by Mai and you have more room for your arms."

The girl just kind of stared at him.

"You know, because of the crash?"

The girl seemed almost frightened by him. She responded with a simple, "Yeah...ok..."

Aang turned around but was very confused. How had simple advice turned into such an awkward conversation?

After class, Aang tried to approach the girl again.

"I'm sorry if I offended you or anything. I was just trying to help," he said as politely as he could.

"Oh no, that's ok," the girl said, about twenty times more relaxed. "Me and Mai took lessons over the summer from Gyatso."

Gyatso was one of Aang's idols. He was 2 grades above Aang and had graduated last year. He learned so much about art and stuff just from watching him. He was a master, and had he not gone into wrestling, he could have made a career with his artistic skills. Now, Aang really felt like an idiot. Here he was trying to help someone who obviously didn't need any help, and he doesn't even know what her name was.

"Oh, wow. That's cool. I'm sorry then. I didn't realize..."

"No no, that's ok."

The two then separated and went to each other's respective friends.

When he caught up with Katara, Aang asked her, "So, yeah. I had no idea that those two took lessons with Gyatso over the summer."

"They did? No way, that's cool."

"I know. Hey, what was that girl's name again? I know I've seen her around. Weren't her and that gloomy girl in the art show last year?"

"Yeah, that's Toph. Her and Mai were really good from last year's freshman class if I remember right."

"Oh, so they're sophomores?"

"Yeah."

"Cool.

Aight well, I'll see you at lunch then."

"Same."

* * *

"So, are we going to La Casa after the game tonight?" asked Sokka.

"Of...course?" replied Aang.

"Well, I'm making sure since last time we decided to go somewhere else without my approval!"

"Relax Sokka," Katara said, "That was just a one time thing because I knew that your other soccer friends would be at Taco Bell."

"Ohhhhh...I see...." grinned Sokka.

"What are you talking about?" said Katara somewhat nervously.

"You just wanted to go and flirt with all the other soccer guys, didn't you?"

Aang and Sokka both started giggling and clutching their stomachs.

"I was not trying to flirt with all those guys!" Katara defended.

"Well, yeah, of course not all of them. Like, you know, probably not me, or Aang, or...well, we're the only ones you probably wouldn't target."

Now the two were both full on laughing.

"Stop it you two! Enough!"

"Whoa, whoa, chill. It's not a big deal. I'm sure you'll find a date to the dance sure enough. If nothing else, you could go with Aang."

Katara gathered her lunch and left the table quickly without a word. The two watched as she dumped her stuff, plastic tray and all, and ran into the bathroom.

"What's with her?" Sokka asked.

Aang just shook his head and left the table.

"What's with him?"

* * *

Aang grabbed his phone from his pocket on his way up his sidewalk.

_"Hey, sorry if lunch today was weird."_

**"Nah, Sokka was out of line."**

_"I know, I feel like killing him for saying I flirted with all those guys XD"_

**"XD, yeah. You wouldn't have any problem finding a date to the dance if you wanted to. Me on the other hand...well, let's just say I'm not sure if I'm going."**

_"Aww, why not?"_

**"I've actually never been to a school dance ever. Partly because I don't feel like it, and partly that I've never had a date or anything. It's pointless going without a date."**

_"Well, you could go to the dance with me."_

Aang froze. Did he read that last one right?

------------------

**"Wait, you mean like a date?"**

Katara froze. Did she mean like a date?

------------------

_"Well, that's not what I was saying, but we could if you wanted to."_

**"I'm fine with it. Do you want to?"**

_"It's up to you."_

"Gah, why is it always up to the guy?" he thought.

**"Then sure, let's go..."together"..."**

_"Alrighty then 3"_

**"Aight, cyall later."**

"Wait a minute," Aang thought, "I'm going to the dance...with Katara?!"

* * *

**A/N: So, yeah...TIME SKIPPPPPPP...**

**What I'm anticipating is maybe revisiting this 4 week time period in between the first chapter and this one. But I was getting a little anxious and I wanted to introduce Toph and Mai and get into the Kataang plot. If I feel like it, I'll add pre-Kataang fluff, or if the story gets popular enough, I may allow ghost chapters to be inserted in this time period at my discretion.**

**Obviously, there are huge differences in character. In order to accurately reflect the relationships, I am forced to alter personalities a LOT. Most notably Toph. It will become more clear when Toph becomes more important in the story, but if you are familiar with Toph at all, or if you read any fanfiction with Toph in it, be prepared for what is most definitely an Out of Character Toph. Other characters I will try harder to keep in character, (Mai, Sokka) but others like Toph and Suki will more than likely be very different from the show.**

**If this out-of-character-ness bothers you, I apologize. I give you permission to take the story and use find and replace to get rid of Toph's name and put in "Mary" or something if you wish. It won't hurt my feelings because it's hard enough to write Toph out of character, let alone read it. But trust me, I do have a purpose behind Toph, and you will see it eventually if you don't already have me all figured out.**

**As for those of you that don't understand what happened with Katara and Aang in this chapter, let me explain. In the first chapter, I was hinting at the continually growing closeness of Katara and Aang. They were friends, but I tried to make it obvious that they were a different kind of friends. The ending to the first chapter was to show Katara's small, yet still developing feelings for Aang. At this point in the story, Aang doesn't know what he thinks of Katara, but Katara knows that she likes Aang at least a little. I gave them around 8 weeks from the first chapter to let their relationship grow even more, and to leave plenty of room if I wanted to go back and write more into that period of time. At the point of this texting conversation, Katara decides that she's willing to give Aang a try, and Aang goes along with it mostly because he thinks it'll be fun to have a date to the dance.**

**That should be about it. More soon hopefully.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: This is a milestone chapter in many ways.  
**

* * *

"YOU WHAT?!"

"Calm down Sokka, it's just one dance, it won't hurt anybody..."

"YOU WHAT?!"

"Don't worry about her Sokka. No one will bother her while I'm around."

"YOU TWO ARE DOING WHAT?!"

Katara and Aang just shook their heads.

"Sokka," Katara said, "you really need to calm down. We're just going to the dance for one date. It's not that big of a deal. We don't even like each other like that!"

_"Wait, what? We don't?!" _Aang thought, _"I thought that was the point of a date! Since when do you go on a date with someone you don't like...like that..."_

"Excuse me," Aang said, "I need to go use the restroom."

Aang slammed the door behind him and sat down on the floor.

_"Wait, wait, wait...I have to figure this out. Why am I getting so upset over this when I don't even know if I like her...like that? Or do I? GAH! I don't know! I mean, she's always been like a big sister to me, and of course I always thought she was really pretty. I don't know, I guess I never expected to have a chance with her. Well, I mean, maybe she likes ME like that too...but wait, she was the one that said, "We don't even like each other like that."_

Aang stopped thinking for a little bit and rubbed his temples. He knew he'd only have a little bit more time before his friends suspected bladder problems.

_"Ok, what are the things I like about her? She's smart, pretty, and nice, her bother's awesome, she's my best female friend, that's probable good right? Of course right. Now...bad things? Ummm...she's kind of bossy? Gah, I don't know."_

Aang hung his head; he knew what he had to do. He never expected it, but now he knew for sure. He had romantic feelings for Katara.

He got up from the floor and walked out the door, finding Katara and Sokka still arguing, only it wasn't about the dance anymore.

"But it was MY truck, and YOU threw it into the creek!"

"But that's only because you stomped on my new bracelet!"

Aang felt the need to intercede, "Guys, that's enough. Sokka, Katara and I are going to the dance. You can deal with that any way you feel is necessary as long as you don't try to prevent it. I expect for us to have a good time, and for you to keep your nose out of it. What we do as just the two of us is none of your business."

Sokka and Katara stepped back.

Sokka stammered over his words, "F-f-f-fine. But...I...I STILL DON'T LIKE IT!"

He then stomped off, tripping over his shoelaces as he walked up the stairs. Katara and Aang waited until they heard the door shut before they started speaking.

"Ummm, wow," Katara said, genuinely impressed. "I never expected that out of you. Is that what you were working on in the bathroom?"

Aang blushed, "Ummm, something like that...heh heh..." he gave a nervous laugh.

* * *

Katara rolled over in bed that night when she felt the vibration from her phone. She had gotten something like 20 messages from Aang in the last half hour or so. They were packed with questions about what they would do at the dance, after the dance, before the dance, the next day, and all kinds of things like that.

Strangely though, she didn't seem to mind:

_"So, what time to you want to pick me up?_

_~Kat"_

**"Ugh, Gyatso is yelling at me to head off to bed. We'll talk tomorrow, k? Luv ya!**

**3 Aang"**

Katara smiled at his final message of the night, then rolled over and went to sleep.

* * *

"So anyway, I can't believe that episode! Dwight was sooooo sad!!!!"

"I know," replied Aang, "I was about to cry. But I have to say, Michael and Jan is starting to get on my nerves..."

"Hey," a voice from behind them came, "are you guys talking about The Office?"

Aang and Katara turned around and looked at Toph, the girl that sat behind them in art class.

"What'd you say?" they asked.

"I heard you guys mention Dwight, and Michael and Jan. You guys watch The Office too?"

"Heck yes we do!" shouted Aang.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so happy to find someone else who likes it!" Toph exclaimed.

The rest of the class consisted of Toph and Aang talking about The Office and how much and how long they had liked it. Katara only mildly liked it, so she let Aang go ahead and make a new friend since she might ruin the conversation with her "n00bishness" as Aang so delicately put it a few weeks ago when she asked who Andy was. There were so many freaking characters that she didn't know how anyone kept track.

After class, Aang and Katara walked out together. "I can't believe I found another person that likes The Office as much as I do. This is so awesome! I was so afraid that I like, scared the poor girl off when I gave her advice that one day. This is such a relief."

"Yeah Aang, I'm happy for you," she said half-heartedly, but Aang didn't notice.

"Alright, I'll see you at lunch!"

"See you too!" she smiled. But as soon as he walked out of sight, she let herself go placid and shuffled on to her next class semi-annoyed.

* * *

**A/N: AWWWW KATAANG JEALOUSY!! IT'S SO SWEEEEEETTTTTTTTT!!**

**That is, if you like that sort of thing. :p**

**Again, this is a milestone chapter. Many things started in this chapter and many things in the future put in motion. Not much else to say. Hope you enjoyed!  
**


	4. Chapter 4

Aang had noticed that Katara was starting to get some female friends too. One in particular was a girl named Song that sat on the other side of the room during art class in the morning.

Aang also had noticed that ever since Katara and himself had set their date to the dance, which was only 3 days away now, Song seemed to smile at them more and more. Aang approached Katara about this on the way to 2nd period.

"Did you tell anyone about us going to the dance together?" he asked.

"Well, I mean, of course I didn't broadcast it or anything. It's not everyone's business. But of course I told Song. She's like, my best girl-friend."

Aang thought about this for a little bit. Why was he so paranoid about everyone finding out about them going to the dance? Was he worried that people would judge them for being together? Surely that had to be it. Even though it didn't make sense, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that was it and it was silly for him to be worried about it, especially since he had just decided that he did in fact like Katara. He decided that he didn't really care who knew.

"Why do you ask?" Katara wondered.

"Nothing, just wondering."

* * *

"Hey, so do you think that the writer's strike will affect the episodes?"

It was the day before the dance and Toph and Aang were having their now-daily discussion about The Office.

"Of course it will. Half of the actors on the show are also the writers for it. There's no way they can keep shooting new episodes. The strike will happen, they'll air the whatever episodes they have so far, and then we'll just have to wait it out a while," Aang explained.

Toph quickly came back though, asking, "But won't that shorten the season a bunch?"

"Toph, stop."

The two looked over at the voice, which came from Mai.

Toph looked confused, asking, "What?"

Mai just nodded her head and turned back to her project.

"Well, yeah, I guess it will shorten the season, which sucks..."

RING!!!!!

Everyone packed their things and left class. Aang caught up with Katara and told her what happened.

"Yeah, I heard her say that. I turned around and saw you two looking really confused, but I didn't know what she was talking about, or what you two were talking about. Although, I guess it's a pretty safe assumption that it was about The Office."

"Yeah..." Aang's mind wandered around the topic.

Why had Mai said that? Does The Office annoy her? Do I annoy her? Does it annoy her when Toph and me talk? Does it annoy her when Toph talks to me specifically? Do all of the above apply?

"Probably..." Aang chuckled under his breath.

"Huh?" Katara interrupted his thought.

"Oh, nothing. See you at lunch."

"Aight."

* * *

Katara was troubled at lunch. The dance was tomorrow; she hadn't worked on her hair, make-up, and everything else besides her dress (deep royal blue). And on top of all this, Aang wouldn't shut up about The Office. He just kept quoting it over and over. She thought it was funny enough, and obviously she was caught up in the Jim/Pam relationship. But enough was enough.

"Um, I have to go," she said, as she abruptly stood up, dumped her tray, and left the cafeteria with a brisk walk.

"What's with her?" Aang asked.

"You wouldn't shut up about The Office," Sokka informed him.

"That's not all," said Song, who had begun to join them for lunch.

"What?" inquired Aang, confusedly.

"You guys have a date tomorrow night. I watch you during art class. You turn around and talk to Toph half the time now. Now, I'm not accusing you of doing anything wrong here, but you have to realize what Katara's thinking. Whether this is how you see her or not, Toph is another girl, and you talk about The Office all the time with her during art class. Now, it's great that you have someone to talk to about that stuff, but that's yours and Toph's thing. When you take it outside of that relationship, the jokes aren't nearly as funny, the constancy of it is borderline annoying, and even though she knows you're dedicated to her, there's always going to be that inkling of jealousy," Song explained; very thoroughly Aang thought.

"Really? That's what it is?" he asked.

"Yup. The same would apply if you and me started talking all the time about soccer or some band or something."

"Wow, I never thought of it that way. What should I do?" Aang said, full of hope that Song would deliver again.

"Don't sweat it. As long as you show her you really care about your date deeply before the day is over, she'll forget all about that. Realize, it's not just that either. She really likes you Aang, and she's really stressed about how she's going to look tomorrow. That's where she's going after school today anyway; home so she can work on her look for tomorrow night."

"Oh, well OK then. Thanks Song."

"No problem, Aang," she smiled.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the delay. Rehearsals and work got in the way. Expect more regular updates in the coming chapters.**

**I already told the Kataang fans that they'd get their filling early and then it would die rather quickly. The dance isn't the end of the Kataang, but the real beginning, as opposed to Aang asking her to the dance being the beginning.**

**But recent events have transpired and I need to issue a disclaimer now that maybe I haven't made clear yet. You'll soon realize that this is in essence a romantic Taang**, **but not in the traditional sense. This is a character study of Aang and Toph and why they should be together, why they shouldn't be together, and other such things. Unfortunately for you guys, while this is a romantic Taang, I have no definite plans to end it with them together.**

**Now, the big question here is "Why?" Well, the answer is quite simple, and quite complicated for me to talk about at the same time. The reason? Because it's not real enough for them to get together. I've hinted at this a couple times already, but the Kataang relationship almost to a "T", the Sukka relationship drama that will be looked at somewhat, another couple of Aang relationships not yet revealed, are all based off of not only real life experiences, but my real life experiences.**

**The same applies to the Taang, but to a much more extensive degree. In the way that Aang's relationship with Toph is going to be vital to the story and his life, my relationship with the girl who I am basing Toph off of is the most important thing in my life right now aside from my religious faith.**

**So when I say that it is not real enough for them to get together, unfortunately for me, that is exactly what I mean. And unfortunately for you guys, as of Monday night, it's doubtful we'll ever be together DDD:**

**With that said, most of the rest of my A/Ns should not be so extensive. But because of recent events in my life and because of the Kataang we're about to delve into, I figured this needed to be said this chapter.  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Only a few more chapters until the big dance! Are ya excited yet?  
**

* * *

Katara rubbed her lips together, smoothing the make-up over her lips. She was finally done, except for her eye shadow. Unfortunately, she only had a little bit left and she would run out if she used it on her practice run.

She ran to her closet to grab her shoes when she heard a knock at her bedroom door.

"Who is it?" she shouted.

"Aang."

_OH CRAP! HE CAN'T SEE ME BEFORE TOMORROW NIGHT!_

"Umm...don't come in!"

Aang was confused. "Uh, why?"

"Because! I'm in my dance stuff. You can't see me in it before tomorrow night!"

Aang was still confused, but decided to go along with it. "Ok," he said submissively.

A half hour later, the door opened and Aang walked in.

He quickly glanced around the room at the mess leftover from her trying on different outfits. His eyes widened when he saw a strapless bra lying on the bed. Unfortunately, Katara caught him looking at just the wrong time, even though he had only lingered for a second.

"Aang! At least wait for me to clean up!"

His cheeks blushed. He just turned around and walked out of the room saying, "If you don't want me to see all of your...personal belongings...then don't invite me in before you have them all cleaned up."

"Well, I thought I did. There, everything's gone. You can come back in now."

Aang rolled his eyes.

"Why are you so concerned about whether I see you now or tomorrow night?"

"Have you never been to a dance?" Katara was aghast.

"No."

Then Katara remembered. "Oh."

Then she jumped onto her bed and stared at the ceiling while Aang stood at her doorpost.

"Well, why'd you come over?"

"I felt bad about today," Aang admitted.

Katara sat up. "...What for?" she asked him.

"It's one thing for me to talk about The Office during art class when Toph is sitting right behind me since that's the only time I get to see her. But when I start talking and ranting about it during lunch...does it annoy you?"

"Aang, I understand that you love The Office. But, yes, your constant ramblings and obsession can get annoying sometimes, ESPECIALLY when Toph isn't around. Don't take it personally, but yes I do get tired of it."

"No, I understand. I hope though that you know that telling me something like that won't hurt my feelings. I know I can be annoying and a handful sometimes. Just let me know when I'm being too much like that, and I'll tone it down. No hard feelings or anything."

Katara just smiled and lay back down on her bed.

Aang walked over and sat down next to her.

"I have to admit though, I wouldn't have come up with that without Song's help."

Katara chuckled, sat up and said, "Remember to thank her for me," as she kissed him on the head.

Aang blushed again.

* * *

"So anyway, I am getting absolutely sick of Michael and Jan. Their relationship is about to self-destruct. I can tell."

Aang nodded, "Yeah..."

Toph noticed something off about Aang, "Hey, what's wrong?"

Aang turned and looked at Katara working on her project. Then he turned and told Toph, "I tell you what, I really need to finish this project today."

"Are you serious? There was a new episode last night. You don't want to talk about it?"

Aang glanced at Katara quickly again, then turned back to Toph to answer, but was stopped when she said, "Ah, I see. Never mind, we can talk later."

Aang smiled and turned back around to work on his project.

* * *

Aang and Katara walked out of the classroom and headed their separate ways. Behind them walked Toph and Mai, who had the next class together, just out of ear-shot of the pair some ways in front of them.

"Got turned down today, huh Toph?"

"Oh no, they have that date at the dance tonight. He just wanted to give her some attention that obviously she deserves."

"Really? It doesn't bother you? I mean, he talks to her all day. You guys only see each other once a day."

"Nah, that's the only thing we really talk about anyway."

"Whatever," Mai sighed as she scuffed down the hall with her best friend.

* * *

**A/N: "Nah, that's the only thing we really talk about anyway."**

**Oh come on, you know that's gonna change XD**

**Chapters are shorter, I know. BUT, by keeping the chapters shorter, the more dramatic chapters have room to grow when I want to use length as an emphasis tool, and I won't be as pressured to chug out a chapter whenever I feel I need to. (This particulor chapter took ~1 hour to conceive, type, and publish.)**

**However, don't mistake short for unimportant. This chapter in particular sets up some of the art class drama that will be prevalent throughout much of the Kataang, and also establishes the way Taang is set up in this room. (Since this is the only room that Aang and Toph are in together until much later than now, it makes sense that a good chunk of the story should take place here.**

**Also on the topic of Toph, maybe some of you were expecting some one-sided Taang when we got that last section there? Well, I'm sorry. There will be some one-sided Taang and maybe even some mutual Taang. But as frustrating as it is, don't get too dependent on much of anything from Toph's side.**

**I promise the A/Ns will start getting shorter. But since I didn't have an introductory chapter, I feel the need to point some things out early so as not to create false expectations.  
**

**Lastly, music credits. This particular chapter was written while listening to the In The Heights soundtrack. Listen to it. It pwns.  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**We're getting close! Next chapter the date begins!

* * *

**

* * *

Lunch was a meatball sub today, Aang's favorite.

Katara was busy talking with one of her teachers about a test, so it was just Aang, Sokka, and Song again for lunch.

"So Aang, Katara told me about what you did yesterday after school."

Aang looked up from his sub nervously at Song and stammered, "Yeah...well...ummmm..."

"...And I think it was really sweet," she smiled.

Aang sighed. _Passed the best friend test! I'm on my way!_

"Wait, that's what you were doing yesterday during practice? I covered for you so you could go over to my house behind my back?!"

"Sokka! You heard what Song said yesterday! I had to go make things right with your sister."

Sokka's face turned even more disgusted. "Ok, you can stop right there Casanova. I DEFINITELY don't want to hear about that. You stayed out of her room though, right?"

Aang just kept eating.

"You WERE in her room, weren't you?! You're not supposed to go into my sister's room! You might see...nasty girl things in there!"

"Sokka, calm down. There's nothing nasty or girly or anything like that in your sister's room."

Song giggled.

"What?" Aang asked.

"That's not what Katara told me..." she kept giggling.

Aang's and Sokka's eyes widened, both for different reasons.

"I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL EFFING KILL YOU!" Sokka started screaming until Song placed a hand over his mouth.

"Calm down Sokka, it wasn't a big deal. Katara had a bra lying on her bed and Aang saw it when he walked in her room."

Sokka cooled down a little bit. "Ha! I was right. I told you it was a bad idea."

Aang rolled his eyes and dumped his tray.

* * *

Eighth period was dragging. When the bell finally rang, Aang was the first one out the door and into the parking lot.

Because of the football game and the dance, practice had been canceled, so Sokka was ready to drive Katara and Aang home.

Unfortunately, the school's rules mandated that all of the buses leave before the students, so they had some sitting time. It was still in the middle of October; so Sokka rolled the window down to let some air in the car.

"Katara! Sokka! Aang!"

All three looked out Sokka's window to see Song running down the grassy knoll towards the car.

When she reached Sokka's window, she said, slightly out of breath, "Hey...my ride ditched...can I please get a lift home?"

Sokka looked toward the other passengers for their votes. They nodded yes, and Katara hopped out of the passenger seat and let Song ride up front.

"Where are you at?" Sokka asked her.

"Straight down that road, about 10 minutes."

"OK, good. That's where we're headed anyways. I'll drop Aang and Katara off and then you can show me where you live."

"That's fine," she smiled.

Aang was glad for Song's arrival. It would have seemed weird for him and Katara to ride home separately in the same car when they had a date that same night. Katara settled in to the back seat and ripped out her French book.

"Ugh, French is so stupid. It always sounds like they're gagging on something," Aang said, "I mean, I hate Spanish, but that's probably because I'm taking it. But French...I don't even like the sound of it."

Song and Katara both took to defending French as Sokka just chuckled through the whole argument. Aang deserved this after skipping practice and going to Sokka's house behind his back.

* * *

_Hey, is Sokka back from dropping off Song yet?_

_~Aang_

**No. Knowing him, he probably got lost on the straight road with no turns...HAHA**

**~Kat**

_Yeah, probably. Hey, we never decided on a time to meet tonight._

_~Aang_

**Hmmm, guess not. Do you want to go to the game?**

**~Kat**

_Not really. You want to get something to eat, and then show up for just the dance?_

_~Aang_

**Fine with me. Oh, Sokka just walked in. He came in the door and ran up to his room really fast. O.o**

**Anyway, where do you want to go?**

**~Kat**

_I don't know, Wendy's? 8?_

_~Aang_

**Sure. Gtg, hw. I'll see you at 7:30 :D**

**~Kat**

* * *

Aang shut his phone and smiled as he walked over to his closet. It was only 4:30 and he already had his shirt and pants on. He looked at the clock.

"Ugh, 3 more hours..."

* * *

A/N: Yes, I know Aang is a vegetarian. But I'm not. And I LOVE our cafeteria's meatball subs.

**Definitely did not plan on extending the bra thing this far.**

**Unfortunately, Wendy's isn't really where I went on this night. However, the place we actually went has WAY too specific of a name to use in this story.**

**Music listened to: Muse, the complete discography.  
**


	7. Chapter 7

Aang woke up to his phone vibrating. Glancing at the clock, he saw it was 7 and realized he needed to finish getting ready. He texted Katara back and forth while preparing for the dance.

* * *

**Hey, are you ok if Song comes with us tonight?**

**~Kat**

_Sure. She need a ride again?_

_~Aang_

**Sort of. Sokka asked her to the dance when he got to her house. They're dropping us off at Wendy's and heading across the street to Bob Evans.**

**~Kat**

_Really? O.o_

_~Aang_

**I know, that was my reaction. XD...**

**I think maybe he's trying to get back at me for dating his best friend.**

"Oh crap...I didn't mean that. We're not dating yet," Katara realized.

She quickly cleared and started over.

**I know, that was my reaction. XD...**

**Maybe he's trying to get back at me for going to the dance with his best friend.**

**~Kat**

_Aight, well, I need to finish getting ready. Cyall in a sec._

_~Aang_

* * *

"Is that really all you're getting?" Katara asked.

"Of course! French fries and a chocolate frosty is the best Wendy's has to offer."

Katara just froze with her disgusted look.

"I know it sounds weird. But trust me, it's really good. The coldness and sweetness of the frosty cancels out the saltiness of the French fry."

"So you're left with chocolate potatoes?" Katara suggested.

"Something like that," Aang replied, missing her sarcasm.

"I'm so glad we're skipping the game. I hate high school sports."

"I know," Aang agreed, "our town doesn't care about arts or music or anything."

"I know, it's ridiculous."

Aang smiled. It was so nice having someone to talk to who actually agreed with him so much and understood what he was talking about. He talked to Toph during first period, but that was really it. And all they ever talked about was The Office anyway. He had no idea the other kinds of things she liked, if she was smart, all these other things that he knew about Katara.

"Aang, are you staring?" Katara asked, looking down at her chest and then back at his face.

"What?" Aang said, snapping out of his thoughts, and simultaneously realizing he had cast his gaze toward Katara's chest unintentionally.

"OH! Sorry! I just zoned out."

Aang saved himself on that one. He and Katara had shared the discussion a long time ago about how they both tend to zone out and randomly stare at things. Unfortunately, Aang had caught himself lingering on her beautiful, blue, strapless (A-ha!) dress.

"Oh, again? What were you thinking about?" Katara wondered.

"Nothing really. Sometimes that happens to. I just zone out not thinking about anything."

"Hmmm...weird..."

Aang looked at his phone. He was anxious to get to the dance.

"Uh oh. What time does the dance start?" Aang asked.

"9:30, or whenever the game is over. Why?"

"Because it's 9 now. We better go grab Sokka and Song so we can get there in time."

"Ok, that's fine," Katara said standing up.

The two threw away their trash and headed across the street.

* * *

"So anyway, I remember that I was heading out to the playground, but I forgot that I had left her book in the grass. So, I had to run back and...WHOA! WHAT THE EFF?!?!!?" Aang exclaimed.

The two had walked across to the Bob Evans and Aang was telling Katara the story of how he met Song a long time ago during elementary school. When they got close enough though, they noticed that Sokka's lights were on. Even from far off though, Aang and Katara could see the two huddled closely in the car; very closely in fact.

Katara couldn't contain her laughter. "THEY'RE MAKING OUT?! THAT'S HILARIOUS!!!!"

They both ran over to the car and knocked on the window. Sokka opened the door and gave them the new game plan before they could even start talking.

"Hey, um...me and Song are going to walk to Starbucks instead of going to the dance. Aang, you can drive over to the school. Come back and pick us up when you're done. Ok? Good. See you two later!"

Then, Sokka ran around to the other side of the car and opened the door to let Song out. Then, the two clasped hands and began making their way to the Starbucks a block away.

Aang and Katara stared at each other and then down at the keys in Aang's hands. Without a word they both got in their respective sides of the car and shut the door.

Aang stuck the key into the ignition and said, "How about we just forget about that until tomorrow?"

Katara nodded her head as Aang shifted into 'Drive'.

"Agreed."

* * *

**A/N: Woohoo. Dates are fun! At least, that's what I'm assuming since I've only been on two official dates.**

**Enjoying the story? Please review if so. I don't want to sound like the guy that harps and harps about reviewing, but I believe this is the first time I've even mentioned it. I love hearing about how great I am, but I also enjoy reading criticisms and building off of them.**

**IMPORTANT:**

**Please be on the lookout for this story to appear under a different user-name. Me and the person that I'm basing Toph off of talk a lot on the internet and stuff. She's even read some of my fanfiction before. After a lot of thought, I've decided that I need to move the story to a different name to protect myself from her finding out my feelings for her in the wrong way (i.e. in a fanfiction based on Real-life events but set to fictional characters from a Nickelodeon cartoon).**

**I'll post more details on how I will be making this transition eventually. But for right now, I just wanted to warn you that you really do need to pay attention to these notes.  
**


	8. Chapter 8

Aang and Katara pulled into the student parking lot. They both got out, looked over to the field and realized that the game was still going.

"Aww, we could have stayed at Wendy's longer," Katara whined.

"I wonder who's ahead," Aang said.

They both walked forward to the field until they could see the scoreboard.

"Ah, we're down 20-19," Aang said when they were within site of the field. They were far enough away where they could be basically alone, but still close enough to see whether anything interesting happened in the game.

The clock was finally winding down when the home offense finally took the field for their last drive. Aang and Katara barely paid any attention because of their conversation and were caught off guard when the game ended and everyone was leaving the field.

"Oh, looks like its time for the dance," Aang commented.

"Yeah, let's go!" Katara exclaimed.

All school dances except prom were held in the cafeteria.

The cafeteria was dark and the music had already started. The two paid their way in and then looked around to see whom they could recognize. They each saw a few mutual friends and made their way over to them. The rest of the evening was spent in randomness that was such a blur Aang could barely remember it. Obviously, he remembered seeing Katara a lot, but mostly he just remembered a bunch of crazy dancing.

One time, he remembered actually drifting about ten feet away from the group they were hanging with. Within about 30 seconds, a freshman girl came up to him and started flirting with him. He quickly realized what was happening and looked for an out as fervently as he could. Luckily, his group drifted about 3 feet closer and he was able to be drawn back in when Katara said something. The girl obviously got the clue and went back to her group too.

The rest of the night though was mostly enjoyable. He was able to do the cha-cha slide, which was all he ever really wanted. However, when the night was finally winding down, something happened.

Aang and Katara had taken a break from the dance and were over on the side of the cafeteria with some of the posse they had been hanging out with. Katara had just introduced Aang to her distant cousin who just happened to go to the same school.

"Aang, this is my cousin Lily."

They both exchanged greetings and put on a friendly face. Then, out of nowhere Lily broke social taboo and asked them a question they weren't ready for.

"So are you guys official?"

Katara and Aang looked at each other then Katara finally spoke up and said, "No, this is our first date."

Aang mentally felt relieved. He was so glad that Katara answered for him because he didn't want to speak for her. For some reason though, the question lingered in Aang's mind.

Eventually, the night ended and good-byes were said.

Aang and Katara made their way back to Sokka's car.

"Ugh, now to go see what our best friends have been up to," Aang said.

Katara chuckled as Aang turned the ignition.

* * *

**A/N: WHOA! That chapter flew by.**

**For good reason though. Trust me, it would have been disaster if I had tried to combine the next chapter with this one. The dance needed to be separate.**

**As for Lily, don't expect to ever see her again, because I didn't. I chose Lily from The Cave of Two Lovers (Chong's significant other). I needed a throwaway character, and I'm determined to keep it all in terms of Avatar names.**

**Musical inspiration: Muse again. Specifically? Ruled By Secrecy and Unintended. Unintended especially though. The lyrics fit me so well right now. Listen! Matt Bellamy is a musical beast.  
**


	9. Chapter 9

Aang slowly pulled into the Starbucks. It was ridiculous how little parking the coffee shop had considering how often it was filled to capacity. Luckily, everyone was really tired after the dance and no one bothered coming to Starbucks as was usually custom after high school events. In fact, the entire place was abandoned; save Sokka and Song of course.

The layout of the Starbucks was interesting as well. Again, the designer didn't take into consideration that the Starbucks would probably be the cultural center for the small town, and didn't put a whole lot of thought into how he could maximize on the space given to him. Immediately after walking in, the counter was directly ahead about 15 or 20 feet.

Directly to the left of the door, there was a see-through bookcase sort of display for miscellaneous items that Starbucks was always selling. To the right of the counter was the display case for edible goods and then farther to the right were the restrooms. On the other side of the registers, the work area jutted out into the main floor of the store. After walking past the bookcase, to your left you would see the main floor. Usually there was the main corner with the big padded seats around a large ottoman. More centered on the floor was the main tables and chairs for more intimate or private chatter.

Other than that, there wasn't really much to the store except the other corner where there was a bar and a few other tables and chairs. This is important however, because this is where Aang and Katara found their two friends, necking.

"OK, we're doing you a favor by not asking questions...yet, but do you guys REALLY have to do that in public?" Katara interrupted.

Sokka looked up, "What do you mean in public? Even if there was anyone else in the store, we're all the way back in this corner. Who's going to care?"

Katara facepalmed. "Whatever. We're ready to go home now, so can we just go already?"

Sokka stretched his arms and stood up, "Fine, fine. I'm tired anyway."

The four then headed out the door to Sokka's car to journey home.

* * *

Aang trudged up the stairs to his bedroom. He had really enjoyed himself, a lot actually. He had never been to a school dance before, and it was a lot less stupid than he expected. He was still having trouble remembering a lot of the night since it had all been a blur, and he hadn't even began to try to process what happened between Sokka and Song.

But even as great as the night had been, something was still bugging Aang. When he got out of the car at his house, it felt really awkward saying goodbye to Katara for some reason. They didn't hug or hold hands or anything that night, but for some reason it just felt weird to simply say goodbye and get out of the car.

He wasn't able to take it anymore. He grabbed his phone and texted Katara.

Hey, get on Skype. I need to talk to you about something.

~Aang

Aang actually much preferred Skype to texting because you could be more complete with your thoughts. Plus, he liked the computer more and it was faster.

He sat down at his computer and began checking up on his stuff while waiting for Katara to log on. First he checked his email, then he moved on to myspace. Nothing new had happened, so he went ahead and logged onto Skype. Katara was already online.

_-hey_

**-hey, so what did you want to talk about?**

_-well, i was just thinking about something_

**-yeah? what about?**

_-well, i had a really good time tonight...besides sokka and song..._

**-lol...yeah...i had a really good time too**

_-good, i'm glad you did_

**-yeah, i really did**

_-and i have to say, your cousin is...pretty special..._

**-yeah, lol**

_-but i was thinking about what she said..._

_-do you want to be together now?_

_-i mean, it's totally up to you...i'm fine if you think we're moving too fast and you want to take it slow, but if you want to, i'm ready to become "official"_

Aang watched as Katara's pencil moved across the screen for a good 30 seconds. "Oh brother," he thought, "she's not sure, so she has to keep typing over and over again."

Finally, her pencil stopped and a message appeared.

**-i don't know aang...i mean, i really had a great time...but i think we should take it slow for a while, maybe go on another date or something?**

Aang felt his heart fall. Even though he knew that doing what Katara felt comfortable with was the right thing to do, he was sort of wondering whether or not his feelings mattered in the prospective relationship. "But what if it's worse than that?" he thought, "I don't want to be in a relationship where I have to make sure the person is always comfortable even when I'm not. But on the other hand, I really like Katara and I want our relationship to work. I mean, I've never had a girlfriend before. Do you have to expect to marry the person if you're in a relationship? Do you even have to expect for it to last very long if you're in it?"

In the end, Aang finally overcame his conflict and messaged back.

_-ok, that's fine. i just want to make sure that you aren't uncomfortable with how fast things go between us_

**-thanks, i really appreciate that**

_-so, i think it was pretty stupid having a dance on friday night_

**-why's that?**

_-because all the football players are too tired to dance...

* * *

_**A/N: Something should be jumping out at you here. Obviously, this is not Kataang in the context of the show, so disregard those kind of criticisms to begin with. This isn't about exploring actual possibilities for the characters in the modern world. This is about creating a plausible story using these characters as mediums to present a plot based on my real life experiences. If you're expecting in-character writing, get out of the story now, or change your expectations.**

**That being said, from the beginning, it should be obvious that there are a lot of issues here with Katara and Aang. I don't plan on making it a habit of ranting at the end of every chapter, but please bear with me.**

**Firstly, I think it's obvious from the beginning that Aang likes Katara for the wrong reasons. That being said however, I think it's also obvious that Aang does in fact care for her and wants the best for her. The problem is that he isn't communicating what he really feels. He wants to be with Katara now (understandable since he's never had a girlfriend), and he says that it is most important that Katara is comfortable when really he should be searching for something they are both comfortable with.**

**Bottom line? There is no "most important thing" in a romantic relationship. Once Aang has established that Katara's feelings are more important than his, he's sentenced himself to a relationship where his happiness and his comfort level are not important enough. And if they aren't important to him, one has to wonder how important they are to Katara.**

**But I've said all that to say this. As sad and pathetic as it is, I'm writing this fanfic about my real-life experiences. While events and names and places have been changed, this has happened to me before. But you know what's really sad and pathetic is that I never really understood why my real-life relationship with this girl ended like it did (which you will find out). But after I wrote this chapter, somehow it all made sense and I came to peace with it.**

**I'm not sure if every chapter will work like that, but considering how my life is going right now, it'd be nice to have some answers about why I'm going through some of the things I'm going through right now.**

**On a lighter note, the whole pencil/Skype thing is real too. When someone writes a message on Skype, a pencil moves beside their name to show that they're writing a message.**

**Musical inspiration: Muse again. (Also known as: Muse-ic)  
**


	10. Chapter 10

A few weeks had passed and Aang was getting antsy.

He had started meeting Katara halfway to art class in the mornings and would walk with her to class. It was reassuring that she didn't seem to mind, but little acts of kindness and kind words would not get him what he wanted. He knew what he needed.

He needed another date.

Even though he hadn't had any prior experience, he figured he had seen enough sitcoms to know how it was supposed to work. The only trick was to just find a movie that he knew they would both probably like.

Luckily, he had seen one preview for a movie called Across the Universe. It looked like just the right combination between trippy, lovey/mushy, and awesome considering all the Beatles songs.

He brought it up a couple times to her and she had seemed excited for it, so he decided it was about time to actually set it up.

"So, you up for Across the Universe this weekend?" he asked one Tuesday morning.

"Umm, sure. When can you go?"

"How about Friday?" he suggested.

"Ummm...let me think...Yeah, that sounds good."

"Ok then, let's do it."

* * *

"It's strange how my mind works sometimes," Aang thought that same morning.

He spent five minutes walking to class with Katara, but then as soon as he sat down, his attention turned to Toph and their daily discussion of "The Office."

"Why am I so interested in discussing The Office?" he wondered, "I mean, it's a great show and everything, but surely it's not so great that I like it better than talking to Katara, my almost-girlfriend.

"Oh my gosh! I saw a spoiler about a possible Jan/Michael and Jim/Pam dinner party! It sounds hilarious!" Toph interrupted.

Aang broke from his thoughts instantly at the sound of her voice, "I know! I saw that too! Can you even imagine?!" they both laughed.

"Hmm, must just be an awesome show."

* * *

**A/N: Short? Yes, I know. I hate aftermath chapters.**

**I think it'd be interesting for someone to have read this without reading the author's notes because then I could accurately gauge the effectiveness of my foreshadowing. (Please tell me the Toph section had just the right amount of subtlety? I worked really hard on getting it right...)**

**Also, The Office is not the actual show that Aang and Toph watched and discussed every day. Believe it or not, it was Avatar, but for obvious reasons, I couldn't use Avatar in my fic. Therefore, expect the timeline for Season 4 to be screwed up since the season finale will be happening in July.  
**

**Musical Inspiration: In The Heights, then Muse. (And yes, I do have more music than just those two things...)  
**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Yes, Scranton and Stamford are blatant ripoffs of The Office. I just realized that I needed town names, so I went with it. I'm pretty sure you guys can deal with that.  
**

* * *

In the whirlwind of the possible prospect of dating Katara and watching the relationship between Sokka and Song develop, Aang sometimes forgot about going down to Disney World on the senior class trip. Neither he, Katara, nor Sokka were seniors, but the school gave them free rides down with the seniors because Aang and Katara class both got golds at state in an art showcase and the school soccer team had won its way into the State Championship game in the coming December.

In truth, the trip had kind of snuck up on the three kids. It was Friday afternoon, Aang's date was set for that night, and the class left for Florida on Tuesday. The excitement was building as the last full week before the Thanksgiving break trip was set to take off. The school figured it would save money by scheduling the trip during Thanksgiving break because they knew some kids were less likely to go if they had to miss family time.

Even considering all of this though, Aang was readily focused on that night. He and Katara had a meeting for the trip that afternoon that would last until about 4:30 or 5:00. As soon as it was over, they would head up north to Stamford, which was about 15 minutes away from their house where they would catch dinner and then hit "Across the Universe."

One thing they realized they had forgotten when they got in Aang's car though was that they had no idea where they were going to eat. They talked it over and had all but decided on Olive Garden when Aang suddenly remembered a place where he ate very often when he went up north to Stamford.

"It's a place called China House. It's not the most authentic Asian place, but it is really good, and they have crab legs."

"Oh my gosh! I love crab legs! Let's go!"

"Alright then, China House it is!"

* * *

Dinner was as charming as could be expected on their first solo date. There was a lot of humor involved as the two laughed and carried on about things they saw in the restaurant, things their "ethnic" waitress said that they could barely understand, and other funny stuff that had been happening to them. Eventually, it came time to leave and they headed across the street to the movie theater.

The Stamford movie theaters were a LOT nicer than the Scranton movie theaters. The seats were bigger, the rooms were bigger, but the tickets were a LOT more expensive. They both agreed that it was worth it for a first date that they both had been enjoying so much so far.

They had arrived at the theater about a half-hour early, but they didn't mind because they both shared a love for the pastime of sitting in a public place and watching people. They cut up a few times at some of the things that happened, and a few jokes they made about daily life back in Scranton.

Eventually though, the movie started. About halfway through the film, both were almost exhausted by how busy the movie was. While they enjoyed the music a lot, all the trippy-ness was a little bit much for them. They were both incredibly intrigued by the movie however and were interested to see if their friends that liked the movie were very good movie critics.

Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse when a character came onto the screen with make-up caked on his face and an almost-evil smile plastered over his lips. Katara turned away and Aang immediately realized what was wrong.

He had heard several times about Katara's irrational fear of clowns, porcelain dolls, and spiders before, but he had never witnessed it. However, halfway between wondering what to do; whether to hold her hand, or whether to just keep watching the movie, he noticed something. Katara had turned away, yes, but she had turned her head and had moved closer in her seat to Aang.

Now, because of Aang's inexperience with girlfriends and whatnot, he knew that neither himself nor Katara would be comfortable if he tried to show his first display of affection while she was scared half out of her wits. So, he simply did what he would have done as a friend.

He scooted closer, leaned in and said, "I'm sorry," and made sure to tell her when the clown-man had gone off-screen.

* * *

The movie had ended on a generally happy note. One could call it a joyous note if the person considered the rest of the movie to be on an average level of sadness and drama.

The two walked out to Aang's car and got in. Strangely enough, the atmosphere in the car was a lot more uncomfortable than it had been when they had gotten out earlier. They both knew why, but neither of them wanted to say anything.

Up to the halfway point of the journey home, conversation had been strictly limited to discussion of the movie and how it was awesome or how parts of it were simply too strange. Katara commented once that she was going to go to Wal-Mart the very next day and buy the soundtrack, while Aang compared it to Passion of the Christ.

"It would lose all the emotional power if I watched it a bunch of times. I might not even watch it again. I'm not sure I want to watch it again."

"Hmmm...maybe..." Katara said as they passed the gas station that marked the halfway point between Stamford and their homes.

The next three minutes were spent in silence.

The two would glance over at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking, a few times catching each other but then turning back quickly to watch the highway. They both knew what they had to talk about, but neither was sure who would start the discussion.

Eventually, the tension became unbearable and Aang just had to say something.

"Well, I guess you know what we have to talk about..."

Katara then sighed in agreement and relief and said, "Yeah, I'm so glad you said something."

Then they both laughed about the silly situation. Aang got them back on track though.

"So, what do you think? It's entirely up to you."

_There I go again_, he thought, _why do I not have any say in it? I should, right?_

"I don't know," Katara asked, "do you want to?"

_Finally,_ he exclaimed inside his mind, _An excuse to get the ball rolling! I have to be careful how I word it though._

"Well, to be honest, I'm ready. I've been ready ever since that night at the dance, but I want to make sure you're comfortable."

_Hmmm, I guess that didn't sound as submissive as those other things I said. At least I put some pressure on her to make the decision while knowing what I think._

Katara thought a moment, and then finally resigned and said, "I'm game if you are."

Aang's heart almost stopped. Finally! He had finally gotten a girlfriend! But he had to be sure.

"So, we're officially a couple now?"

Katara nodded her head with a smile, "Mmhmm."

The remaining few minutes of the drive felt strangely routine to Aang. He let her out of the car, said 'goodbye', and then drove himself home.

He dressed for bed, lay down, and finally went to sleep without any worries, doubts, or fears about his dating future. For the first time since he had started liking girls, he felt content.

* * *

**A/N: *out of breath* A tad longer, eh?**

**Few things. First of all, yes, Aang has a car. If that brings up some continuity error from before like the whole Sokka driving them home thing, then make up your own explanation or just deal with the fact that I need to work on making sure that my story is consistent throughout. Neither are ideal, but it's the most effort I'm willing to put into fixing a fan-fiction story that I'm not obligated to do.**

**Secondly, if the Disney World thing sounds like it came out of nowhere, I apologize for that too. I had forgotten to shove that part into earlier chapters, and the Disney chapters are next and they are crucial. This story does not exist without the Disney chapters. Also, because I made up different interests for Katara, Aang, and Sokka, the whole thing about the art showcase and the soccer championship is bogus. Disney was actually a trip for the people in the Music department which myself and all of my friends who went on the trip are a part of, so I had to make up the whole free-ride thing.**

**Lastly, a comment on the writing style of this chapter. I remember my very first chapter of fanfiction. (You can still read it in a story of mine called "The Lower Ranks.") If any of you read that, then you know that I used a lot of imagery and narrative to tell the story and used very little dialogue. Well, I wasn't intending to write this much narrative for the Kataang date chapter. But, events have been transpiring lately in situations that will even be portrayed in this story involving a certain person that is portrayed in this story. These things have me really emotional and I started this chapter as an attempt at relief through writing. Because of the pure emotional state I was in, I think the chapter turned into a more personal narrative that described the atmosphere of the date more than the content (actually, aside from actually becoming a couple, the atmosphere is what I remember most anyway.)**

**I'm blowing hot air at these author's notes again, but I think it's really important for you guys to understand the deep emotional strains I'm going through right now, and this more atmospheric and narrative emphasis is a direct result of that. If you count, there are only 13 lines of spoken dialogue in what is easily the longest chapter so far. Please take that into consideration when you read this chapter.**

**Musical inspiration: Coldplay (Grammy winners!!!)  
**


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